TikToks about the controversial Duggar family are getting millions of views in an emerging subculture knows as 'DuggarTok'
- TikTok videos about former reality TV family the Duggars are amassing millions of views.
- They recount controversies around the "19 Kids and Counting" family and followed Josh Duggar's trial.
A new TikTok subculture dedicated to the Duggar family exploded in popularity as Josh Duggar stood trial. A federal jury in Arkansas convicted Duggar of two counts of child pornography on Thursday.
The Duggar family, which includes parents Jim Bob Duggar, Michelle Duggar, and their 19 children, are known for starring in the TLC reality show "19 Kids and Counting." The series, which explored what life was like for the evangelical Baptist Christian family, premiered in 2008.
The show was canceled in 2015 after InTouch published a police report that reportedly contained allegations that Josh Duggar, the son of Jim Bob and Michelle, had molested several underage girls. He later posted a Facebook statement saying he was "extremely sorry" for his "wrongdoing."
In 2015, TLC started airing "Counting On," a spin-off series based on the Duggars. This too was canceled in June this year following Duggar's arrest on child pornography charges, People Magazine reported.
The Duggar family has remained in the public eye, in large part due to the controversies surrounding Josh Duggar along with various other scandals the family has been involved in over the years. Most recently, it appears they have captured the attention of TikTokers.
TikTok videos about the Duggars have racked up over a billion views
Known as "DuggarTok," TikTok videos related to the Duggar family — which, in addition to news updates and summaries of previous controversies, also include accusations, criticism, and satirical content mocking and parodying the family — have become their own genre on the app.
TikToks under the "DuggarTok" tag have amassed a combined 229.1 million views, while other related tags like #duggarfamily, #duggarsnark, #duggar, and #duggars all have between 100 and 300 million views. Cumulatively, videos under these tags have over 1 billion views.
One of the most popular "DuggarTok" accounts is @notaduggartiktoker, which has over 300,000 followers and 5.6 million likes as well as a separate Instagram account that posts information about Josh Duggar's ongoing trial.
As well as posting extensive updates on Josh Duggar's trial, including courtroom sketches, testimony transcripts, and information on which family members attended, the account also makes videos criticizing things like Jim Bob's decision to run for Arkansas State Senate or posts old clips from the TLC show along with commentary.
In one TikTok video from July, the owner of the account said they make videos about the Duggar family to "spread information about how harmful they are and how harmful their beliefs are."
"They aren't a wholesome TV show family," she added. The owner of the account did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
TikToks about the Duggars are especially common across broader "true crime" TikTok accounts — a growing genre of TikTok creators who post videos around past and present criminal cases.
Commentary on the Duggars also appears in TikTok accounts like @moe.makes.magick, which criticizes other prominent fundamentalist Christian families as well as some of the beliefs surrounding them.
There is also a Reddit community dedicated to the Duggar family
While the term "Duggar snark" has become widely used among TikTokers, it was originally popularized on Reddit. The Duggars faced multiple controversies in 2017, including Jill's husband tweeting transphobic comments, and the Duggars' live-in tutor marrying someone reportedly convicted of a sex crime.
The subreddit "DuggarsSnark" was created in February 2018. It currently has 117,000 members and is described as "a board where you can snark on, make fun of, and criticize the Duggar Family, the far right, ultra-conservative, fundamentalist Christian family behind TLC's fabulously canceled 'Counting On' and '19 Kids and Counting.'"
While recent discussions in the subreddit predominately center around Josh's current trial, Redditors in the community also host "Ask Me Anything" sessions with purported "insiders" such as former neighbors or old friends of the Duggar family, provide timelines, and criticize the family's views on gun ownership, women, and abortion.
Representatives for Josh Duggar and the Duggar family did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.